I mean for example, Roger T. Pipe gave Anal Ball a 0 for a rating but I thought it was awesome and didn't let his reviews bother me.

I only read reviews to know whos in the cast, who does a scene with who, what are they wearing, how long is the movie etc, I don't read reviews because it's important to me what the reviewer thinks of the movie.

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I pretty much only review titles I expect to like. I would advise that no one get too caught up in the whole "ratings" thing because like someone mentioned earlier, that is all subjective. Forget the little snowflakes or whatever other method they use and try actually reading the body of the review. If their description of the action (for the reviewers that actually provide this) sounds like something you'd like, then go for it. Who cares what they actually rate it? Everyone's tastes are going to be different.

By the same token, I would never give someone an extremely low rating or a zero; no one who put their time and effort into making a movie deserves to have it bashed to that extent. I know this is the internet and people, for some strange reason, love to read cynical and scathing remarks but I'm not falling into that trap. If a movie didn't move me, I have no problem saying so but I'll also be as constructive as possible about my criticisms and complimentary as possible about what I did happen to like.

My advice to Moonchimes or anyone else who has his "problem" would be to find a reviewer whose taste tend to resemble your own and follow that reviewer, not the one you always disagree with. That's ASKING for continued disappointment. I don't read the reviewers who I think grade too easily or whom I never agree with. Make use of that "Get To Know Your Reviewer" (which I should probably add to now) link at the top of the reviews page.

Moonchimes says when he rents a movie he's lucky to get one good scene out of the whole DVD. Now I find that a little hard to believe and I'm no pushover. Someone might say you grade too harshly and seem jaded. It's all personal taste. For the most part, I'd say the people who review for ADT have a helluva lot more experience reviewing and seen more porn than most people, so I'd tend to give them the benefit of the doubt. I can't see someone working for an adult publication who gives 0's to everything that comes across his desk staying employed for very long. Trust us, the majority of adult movies released do not all deserves 2's and below, despite what you may think.

Edited by - Crucifixio_Jones on 3/23/2004 11:50:15 AM

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I don't trust reviews because a lot of them are done by people who get free copies (screeners) from the porn companies and the reviewer feels obligated to give it a good review because they want to keep getting free porn. I think you'll probably find that half of all reviews or even more than half are done by people that received screeners (free copies) from the porn companies.
I'm sure there are people here on ADT that post reviews that get screeners, not all but some.
I liken it to the AVN awards, if you buy ads in their magazine you'll get nominations and awards. If companies send out screeners (free copies) they will probably get good reviews even though the movie sucks ass because the reviewer knows if they give good reviews the free porn will keep coming. If you give them a bad review the flow of free porn will stop.
That's why I don't bother reading any reviews, most of the time they aren't accurate.
Plus, everyone has different tastes anyways.
I rent a title, if I like it I buy it, simple

Edited by - M.B. on 3/23/2004 12:24:50 PM

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I only read reviews when I'm ready to purchase, not really based upon reviewers opinion, but general stuff that goes on in the scenes, or what the performers looked like.

(It's funny, I hate critics, but I guess I am one, so I guess I hate myself... time for some more self-abuse, )

- - - B -I -G -m -i -k -e , over & out! - - -

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Crucifixio - Very well said.

As to the general points of this thread, all I know is that more than anything I try to be consistent with my reviews. I know that everybody has different tastes and that everybody won't agree with what I write. I hope that people will be able to read a couple of my reviews on movies they have strong feelings about and see where we agree and disagree. From that I hope they can look at some of my other reviews and decide if it's going to be something they might like or not. I also know that everybody looks for something different in reviews, which is why I try to keep the same format, that way they can check out the technical aspects, extras, who's in what scene, and a separated rundown of what happens in each scene and what my thoughts are in each scene. I know that I write some of the most detailed reviews out there, and I know that not everybody wants to read the entire thing. I hope that by keeping my format the same they can scan through to pick up just what they want to know.

Do I get screeners? Yep. I think you'll be challenged to find any reviewer out there who's written a few hundred reviews who doesn't get a few free movies.

Do I give screeners preferental treatment? Kinda. I always try to review screeners before movies I buy personally because I feel that companies who care enough to send me something deserve that kind of care back from me. (No, I'm not trying to say that to get more porn. Believe me, I have plenty on my desk right now!). It does not mean that they get better ratings out of me. I've given plenty of ratings below 1.5 to screeners. I think when I passed 1000 reviews Drew crunched a few numbers and found out that my average rating was a 3. I try to review a wide range of styles and companies, but since we all gravitate to what we enjoy more I couldn't be happier than having a 3 average!

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Telling people ABOUT my reviews just seems ridiculous to me. Read them yourself--I put alot more work into them than I do a single post in the forum. It's why I write so few of them. If they're not of any use, then pass them by. I know for a fact their useful or at least interesting to some people, and that goes about 100 fold for Astro's reviews.

It goes without saying that I'm about 100 times LESS cynical than M.B. is, however--so take that as you may.

Edited by - MLyons on 3/23/2004 1:00:49 PM

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(I've had a studio contact me, after I gave one of their DVDs, which I did happen to really like, a good review, saying I can have more if I kept the good reviews coming. It didn't take me long to say a big fat NO . I'm not a sellout. If I happen to get a "freebie" and like it, then I like it, if I hate it, then I hate it, if a studio can't handle the truth, then they should re-examine whether or not this is the right business for them to be in. I believe porn fans are the most demanding type of fan, )

There's just so much damn porn released every month,

- - - B -I -G -m -i -k -e , over & out! - - -

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Most of the screeners sent to adt reviewers come thru me. Every reviewer I send screeners to knows that I only want an honest review. Every studio that sends us screeners knows they are getting an honest review. Most of them are truly looking for real feedback not a promo piece.

Really, it doesn't matter anyway. There's so much more to a good review than the ratings. A good review provides enough info for readers to decide for themselves.

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And most studios know that just because they are letting their stuff be seen for free that they are going to be treated fairly when the reviewer writes about what they saw/heard.

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Why on Earth, if I received something from a company for free that was bad, give it a good review? So I can keep getting more free CRAP? That doesn't make sense. If it's good it's good, if it's not it's not. You're not going to hurt my feelings by not sending me more of your sub-par product which will likely just get used as a coaster anyway.

As Steph said, the majority of her reviewers get their screeners through her and not directly from the distributors, so I'd guess that alleviates some of the pressure or the feeling of obligation to them. If I don't like an Evil Angel release, I don't have to worry about them not sending more DVDs because I said so, I can continue to get them through Steph anyway, no fear of reprisal.

And TheLoneGunman makes the most valid point of all: every form of entertainment comps the reviewers. But you still read bad reviews, don't you? ADT is no different. No one is being overly easy or biased to anyone for any reason. You can rest assured they're just giving their honest opinion.

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jab

"What difference do you think you can make, one man in all this madness?"
~~~First Sgt. Edward Welsh (The Thin Red Line)~~~

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for the most part i try to make the review as factual as possible ... a breakdown of each scene including what happens, the names of performers, running time, extras, etc. and whatever else i find noteworthy for each movie.

so far every review of mine has a high rating, because ALL are movies from my personal collection and obviously i would not own the movie unless i thought highly of it.

i would encourage you to add your own reviews! this site is one of the best guides available and any information you contribute in your reviews would surely be helpful to someone.

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You are comparing apples to oranges. The reviewers you refer to for mainstream movies, plays etc. get paid to do reviews, it's their job to give viewers/readers an informed review. Nobody reviewing porn gets paid by a newspaper or tv show to do reviews. Regardless, I don't read reviews of movies or music anyway. I usually know what I might be interested in.
The only time I'll ever check out a porn review is to see if the reviewer listed the entire cast, which doesn't always appear on the box.
I'm not trying to slag this site in any way, I like it for the boards and the new release page.
My position is that a reviewer that receives free screeners will be more likely to give a favourable review where it isn't warranted. I take ALL porn reviews with a grain of salt knowing that it may not be what the reviewer actually thinks of the movie, therefore I have chosen to ignore all of them. I'm not going to waste my time trying to figure out what's an honest review and what isn't.
I'm not saying that every review/reviewer here on ADT gives good reviews for a movie just because they got a screener, I'm just saying that I ignore them for a totally legitimate reason: because there is no way to know if the review is honest because it may have been from a screener (free copy).

Edited by - M.B. on 3/23/2004 4:24:27 PM

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jab

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Edited by - MLyons on 3/23/2004 4:41:16 PM

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Edited by - M.B. on 3/23/2004 4:25:15 PM

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And for the record, Anal Ball is the worst adult movie of all time not directed by Lizzy Borden or Kid Vegas. Zupko still owes me two hours for that one. I will collect one day. Maybe not in this life, but I will collect....

As for overall ratings being too high. That's an interesting point. On a 1-5 scale, it would be important to know where a reviewer starts. I use a 1-10 or A-F scale and for me, an average movie is going to be a 5 or a C. It's in the middle. Other reviewers I know start at zero and work up. That would mean a 3 is pretty good and a 4 is outstanding.

I've been looking at my own scale because I don't know if I really even review "average" stuff any more. Private, RLD, Anabolic, DVSX, Zero Tolerance, Evil Angel, Diabolic....this is ALL above average to start with.

Of course one could always just read Patrick Riley if one thinks that ratings are too high across the board.

LATE
Rog

Rog Reviews

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Edited by - M.B. on 3/23/2004 4:37:54 PM

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You're really hung up on this with or without a screener thing. What you fail to realize is that whether a reviewer reviews a screener or not, it doesn't play into how they review the movie. At all. Get it in your head. A reviewers opinion will remain the same, regardless. There is no incentive at ADT to lie or fudge the facts. Whether or not a reviewer is reviewing from a screener is so inconsequential, it's not even funny. When I pop a DVD into my player, I'm not thinking about whether or not I paid for it, my mind is solely on the action.

Edited by - Crucifixio_Jones on 3/23/2004 4:43:39 PM

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Knowing that an honest appraisal would get them kicked off the screeners list for all those other great discs , what would the reviewer do ? An upstanding and true writer would make the obvious decision , but a less reputable character ... ? That's my one area of concern with screeners . In the magazine and newspaper world there's a writer's reputation to think about , which would probably act as deterrent to most dodgy reviews . Is there really the same pressure online ? I don't know .

Just to be clear , this is not an attack on any of the reviewer's who've posted in this thread , all of whom I respect . Hell , I've bought discs based on their reviews and been very happy ., and I expect to do the same in the future . Rog - thanks for the great write up of Tatiana , it's been one of my top sets of discs for ages now .

To M.B. - If you never listen to anyone's opinion on anything then you must have a very slow ability to lock onto new trends . There's so much out there , and so much changing on a near daily basis ( in every field ) that having a little faith in other's opinions is necessary for me to survive . If you've found a better way to exist , then good on ya .

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I've been kicked off of pleny of screener lists. It would be very easy to keep everyone happy with glowing reviews of all of their movies. I started out reviewing movies that I had bought and still do that on titles the I pick up. People used to say that those reviews were too positive, but of course they were going to be good. They were reviews of movies I liked enough to own.

Do some reviewers soften thier views because of free movies? Probably. I have just always taken the honest approach. It doesn't always make people happy. In fact, there are a few people who post here who hate me for it. On the other hand, people know that when I do give a positive review, it's honest. They know that if I blast one title, I may turn around and love another. Zupko, Mike John, Wanker, Jim Powers, Mason...these people get it. Others don't. Hopefully the people who read my site, whether they like my reviews or hate them, understand that they are honest and find something of value in them.

That was probably a worthless post. I need food.

LATE
Rog

Rog Reviews

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Although everyone who writes a review is being subjective, I think they do have the responsibility to express themselves well enough in writing to say what exactly it is they feel is well or poorly done in a film. And I don't think they should hesitate if they see something done poorly - the studios released the title to the buying/renting public, so they should be mature enough to deal with whatever someone writes.

I have actually thought about any bias creeping into my assessments of a screener title vs. one that I've rented - I've wondered if I let myself go softer on the screeners because I'm not paying for them. So I've forced myself to be honest, though politely, when I think that something could have been done better, or shouldn't have been put into a final release, whether what I'm reviewing is a screener or not. I constantly remind myself that the reviews are primarily for porn fans, not for porn studios/directors, though if the latter can learn something from reading a variety of reviews, so much the better.

With regards to mainstream film reviewers, some of them rarely say anything negative about a film, and I find their reviews to be pointless to read. Some, like Roger Ebert, can give good, well-balanced assessments of what he liked and didn't like in a film. Our own big newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer, employs 3 movie reviewers, so readers can get a variety of opinions. How much are these people influenced by going to free screenings, and having acsess to film stars and directors? I'm sure there is some bias that can creep in to their work, but they have something that none of us here at ADT have - an professional editor who goes over anything they write before it is printed, to offer some counterbalance and critique. That's one difference between the professional movie reviewers and us amateurs.

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My Review Breakdown:
6 5-star
9 4.5-star
44 4.0-star
25 3.5-star
31 3.0-star
25 2.5-star
12 2.0-star
7 1.5-star
1 1.0-star
1 0.5-star
1 0-star

- Saki [faqs]

Edited by - saki on 3/23/2004 8:21:38 PM

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Edited by - M.B. on 3/23/2004 11:02:15 PM

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Even if you don't agree with the reviewers opinion, which I personally find to be the case in most instances, you can always get useful information from a write-up. Are the technical merits of the DVD good? How are the settings? Are the scenes lack-luster or energized? Is there any tease footage? How are the DVD extras? Did your favorite porn star do an anal or double anal scene? The list goes on and on.

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Edited by - M.B. on 3/23/2004 11:21:50 PM

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You don't read reviews fine, but to say that good ones are written mainly because screeners are sent out I don't buy.

Edited by - DenverDon on 3/23/2004 11:43:53 PM

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Some of my reviews are from screeners, others are from titles that I have purchased, rentals and titles that I have borrowed from others. I grade all of them just as hard. If you are interested here is the breakdown of my 233 reviews:
5 stars - 14
4.5 stars - 22
4 stars - 50
3.5 stars - 33
3 stars - 30
2.5 stars - 24
2 stars - 30
1.5 stars - 16
1 star - 8
half a star - 4
no stars - 2

For those who are interested, based on Rog's example, all titles start with me at 2.5 and go up or down depending on the content. All of the film, as a whole, is used to determine the overall ratings. If one scene is far below average, one scene is average and three scenes are above average in a film with five scenes, the overall rating is going to be above average. Plus then there is the camera work, plot if it is a feature or vignette film, locations, etc that go into the overall rating, plus extras. Then the audio/video get added in. A great film can sink to below average due to a poor transfer. I also try to provide enough information in my reviews so that viewers who don't agree with my tastes can still make a decent decision on whether the title might be for them or not.

BTW: I'm a he.

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Now, in response to your initial post, a reviewer only has two obligations:
1) to explain to the reader what the subject being reviewed is about, and
2) to give his honest opinion about it.
In no way is he (or she) required to conform to your tastes or opinions. It's up to you to find a reviewer you agree with or to do without. Bitching about it is pointless.

Finally, I have to say that cynicism may be a fine tool (I use it myself), but it makes a bad religion.

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3.46 for screeners
3.71 for purchases

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I think there is some bias, whether intentional or not, in the reviews. In general, I find it acceptable because more often than not the reviewer will clearly state his/her porn preferences in the body of the review and its direct influence on the review.

Since porn falls into so many specific genres (lesbian, group, swallowing, anal), some reviews may not be helpful at all to the reader. Some I read for pure enjoyment: Pocketcomb Pimp. That being said, I can block out or refuse to read reviews from certain reviewers. (If you check, 1 reviewer has never given a review less than 4 stars.)

In closing, I very much appreciate the time the reviewers take in posting their reviews. The reviewers are providing a service that can be used to make intelligent purchases. For most, the entertainment dollar can only stretch so far.

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Guess what - I gave the screener the lowest rating of the five. Not a conscious decision, I just liked the other movies better.

Regarding the original topic, why are there not many low scoring reviews? Well in my case, I have bought some movies that turned out to be crap, and I simply don't want to spend two or three hours sitting through one again and writing about it. I'd much prefer to write about some of the better movies that I have.

edited for typo.

Edited by - licker on 3/24/2004 7:05:42 AM

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Edited by - M.B. on 3/24/2004 12:31:33 PM

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I've read the reviews on your website a lot, and I can tell you, if I see that no DVD's from a particular studio are being reviewed by a professional like you, I figure that a studio like this must be second or third-rate, and isn't worth my even bothering to watch any of their stuff.

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